🐺 12 Events in One Week?

Welcome to the Wild and Free Edition!

A very mighty “ahwoo” to Ģirts, this week’s pack partner! Thanks for supporting the Social Coyote.

I’ve been thinking about something for a while now.

Let’s step back and think about networking at a high level. At its core, we’re looking to meet people we can collaborate with in some way. Define “collaborate” any way you like based on your goals, but the main idea is that we want to “create” something together.

So, what’s important for a good collaboration? Overlapping interests? Complementary skills? The ability to grab a bite or drink together without it being awkward?

These are all essential things to consider when building relationships. Knowing someone’s job title or elevator pitch is only a small part of what’s relevant.

Think about it: A startup might be hunting for an investor. A businessperson might be looking for a customer. Maybe we’re searching for a cofounder or collaborator. Shouldn’t we also consider how well we’d get along? Do we share any interests or hobbies?

Sure, some people approach networking with a deal-first mindset. But I’d argue for shifting the approach to getting to know people first. It’s a stronger foundation for uncovering real value and developing more authentic partnerships.

When we focus on genuinely knowing someone, we remove the awkward “being sold to” vibe. We also create opportunities to build a broader network outside of our immediate, laser-focused goals. Maybe someone isn’t a customer, but they could become a friend or an ally.

Instead of closing cave doors, consider leaving them open. Word spreads about how we show up and operate in public, and wouldn’t it be great to foster a reputation we’re proud of? One we’d feel good hearing second hand from someone else?

From what I can tell, putting positive energy into a community comes back around.

Here’s what we can get excited about this week:

🐺 Monday, January 27

• Dent:AI Startup Showcase Reception at 5:00 PM - Downtown 🐾 

🐺 Tuesday, January 28

• North County SD Startup Mixer at 5:30 PM - Encinitas 🐾 

• Panel Series #1: Investing in Healthcare - 7:00 PM - UCSD

🐺 Wednesday, January 29

• San Diego Cyber Group Meetup at 6:00 PM - Mission Valley

🐺 Thursday, January 30

• AI + Indie Hackers Happy Hour! at 6:00 PM - North Park 🐾 

• AI Innovation in North County at 6:00 PM - Vista

• ($) Laser Tag and UX Games at 6:00 PM - San Marcos

🐺 Friday, January 31

• San Diego CTO Lunch at 11:45 AM - Sorrento Valley

• Product Roundtable Lunch at 12:00 PM - Encinitas

• Final Friday | SD Tech & Pickleball at 3:00 PM - La Mesa

Get to Know a Coyote:

Let’s give a high-paw to Ģirts! We first howled together at TechCon, but I’ve been appreciating the connections he’s made for a while now. Thank you, Girts, for your generosity and knack for bringing people together!

Like so many, Girts moved here from the Bay Area, where he’d been building the video platform for Twilio. Nowadays, he angel invests, helps Baltic startups grow in the US as a regional director of the Latvian American Chamber of Commerce, and helps companies up-level their software quality as a strategic advisor to TestDevLab. Busy coyote.

You may run into him at the Founders’ Hikes, North County happy hours or cycling the Silver Strand on his days off. He won’t say no to a coffee ride either.

Make sure to give him a howl on LinkedIn. Connector coyotes like Girts make our community stronger, and we’re lucky to have him!

Here’s what we can get excited about next week:

🐺 Tuesday, February 4

• ($) Carlsbad Life In Action Gathering at 5:00 PM - Carlsbad

🐺 Wednesday, February 5

• ($) BioTech Founders & Coffee at 8:30 AM - UCSD

• SDSU: Entrepreneur Society PitchFest at 5:00 PM - SDSU

🐺 Thursday, February 6

• Super Coyote Coffee at 2:00 PM - Torrey Pines … must be a Super Coyote to join 🐾 

🐺 Friday, February 7

• SD Founders Hike at 6:30 AM - Torrey Pines Gliderport 🐾 

• Founder Fridays at 7:30 AM - Solana Beach 

A few cool things to check out:

• NEW: Crisp Coyote Cap

• The Career Coyote a new publication for job seekers in San Diego

• The Howl Guy joins Neal Bloom on This Week in San Diego Tech

Happy Monday,

Jonah “the Howl Guy” 🐺
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